UniSA Open Journal System (Univ. of South Australia)
Not a member yet
409 research outputs found
Sort by
Deregulation and control in international education: What happens in private training establishments in NZ?
No full textThe need for educational integrity intensified particularly after the effects of the public sector reform wave of the 1980s began to be felt by both education providers as well as governments. The prescribed toning down of government support, relaxation of regulatory 'impediments', centralisation of market competition and concomitant proliferation of private as well as public providers resulted in the need for a cost-profit focus in providers and a quality-integrity focus in policy frameworks. In the nonuniversity tertiary sector, numerous concerns and complaints continue to arise regarding 'profiteering' and sub-quality performance in the provision of education. By way of response, both providers as well as public policymakers have been involved in designing innovative frameworks aimed at ensuring integrity and quality in the provision of education in what is essentially a highly lucrative and competitive international market.
This paper critically analyses organisational responses to institutional requirements and expectations in the case of a Private Training Establishment (PTE) in New Zealand. Data for this research comes from a number of secondary sources, ongoing interviews with academics/administrators involved with organisations in the sector, and the notinconsiderable personal experiences of the two researchers. It concludes that deregulation, re-regulation and a reliance on the market as well as internal organisational controls, opens up the industry to serious compromises in terms of integrity of education. The findings should be of interest to stakeholders involved in the tertiary education sector
The Effect of You Can Do It! Education in Six Schools on Student Perceptions of Well-Being, Teaching-Learning and Relationships
No full textThis research investigated the impact of a social and emotional learning program, You Can Do It! Education (YCDI), on different aspects of student social and emotional wellbeing. YCDI was implemented on a whole-school basis in six primary schools with six matched schools serving as controls. At the end of the school year, students in grade 5 in both types of schools completed the Attitudes to School Survey (Victorian Department of Education) and, again, at the end of the following school year when they were in grade 6. Results indicated significant improvements over time on different aspects of student well-being in the YCDI schools and not in the non-YCDI schools. The positive impact of a train-the-trainer model used in this study in a variety of schools under naturally occurring conditions holds promise for low-cost, preventive mental health programs
Editorial Volume 7 (1)
No full textI am pleased to be back at the editorial desk of the IJEI, after the wonderful guest editing work of Chris Moore and Ruth Walker on the Special Issue: Digital Technologies and Educational Integrity, Volume 6(2). With invited contributions, research articles and many reviews of recent works on the topic, 6(2) was indeed a special issue.
Download PDF to view full editoria
A survey of Samford University students regarding plagiarism and academic misconduct
No full textThe purpose of this study was to obtain students' attitudes and opinions at Samford University regarding plagiarism and academic misconduct by means of an internetbased survey system composed of yes/no questions and Likert-type rating scales. Data from 681 of approximately 4,500 Samford University students (15% return rate) were analysed. Research indicates that plagiarism and other incidents of academic misconduct are on the rise for a variety of reasons. Students seemingly have the notion that internet information is public knowledge and is thus free from intellectual property rights; therefore, they do not seem to think internet information needs to be cited for academic purposes. The vast majority of Samford students agreed that if one submits a paper written by someone else, this would constitute plagiarism; and that it was unacceptable to copy/paste information from the internet without proper citations. Slightly less than a majority of students disagreed that cheating was widespread at Samford; and a majority indicated that faculty should clarify their expectations regarding academic integrity. The results are somewhat similar to other plagiarism and academic misconduct studies
Core elements of exemplary academic integrity policy in Australian higher education
No full textThis paper reports on one important aspect of the preliminary findings from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) project, Academic integrity standards: Aligning policy and practice in Australian universities (Bretag et al., 2010) Our project aims to identify approaches to the complex issues of academic integrity, and then to build on these approaches to develop exemplars for adaptation across the higher education sector. Based on analysis of publicly available online academic integrity policies at each of the 39 Australian universities, we have identified five core elements of exemplary academic integrity policy. These have been grouped under the headings, Access, Approach, Responsibility, Detail and Support, with no element given priority over another. In this paper we compare the five core elements identified in our research with best practice guidelines recommended by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) in the UK. We conclude that an exemplar policy needs to provide an upfront, consistent message, reiterated throughout the entire policy, which indicates a systemic and sustained commitment to the values of academic integrity and the practices that ensure it. Whereas the HEA created two discrete resources, the key aim and challenge of this project will be to develop exemplars that demonstrate a strong alignment between policy and practice
Measuring education majors' perceptions of academic misconduct: An item response theory perspective
No full textThe purpose of this study was to construct a psychometric ruler that illustrates university undergraduate education majors' perceptions of academic misconduct. A survey consisting of 38 items that pertain to issues of academic misconduct were administered to an undergraduate sample at a large state university. Utilising Rasch measurement analyses to construct objective measures, students' responses were modeled along a truly linear and equal interval continuum to produce a hierarchy of perceived academic offenses. Results and policy implications are discussed
What can we learn about wellbeing in school?
No full textIn recent years, the term wellbeing has become more common as an explicit educational aim. Despite its frequent use, it is often broadly applied, and rarely explicitly defined. Typically, wellbeing is described in education policy in ways that align conceptual pairings common in political discourse, including wealth, health, and happiness. Given the attention wellbeing is receiving by politicians around the world, this is an important time to consider if common uses of the term are relevant to and resonate with those in the school context, particularly amongst those on the cusp of entry into their adult lives. Here, I present data collected over a three day teaching and learning event in which students were invited to share their understandings of wellbeing as they worked to accomplish tasks related to their school examinations. Soutter, Gilmore, & O’Steen’s (2010) framework for wellbeing served as the conceptual lens through which data were analysed. The central finding to emerge was that wellbeing is conceptualised by students as a multi-dimensional, complex construct that holds both instrumental and intrinsic value for them as individuals, but that educational experiences did not play a prominent role in their visual or verbal communication about wellbeing. Through the discussion, this paper attempts to “create space†to consider wellbeing’s role in the senior secondary context
Staff and student perspectives on the potential of honour codes in the UK
No full textHonour code systems have been long-established in some American universities, associated with cultures of academic integrity. This study considers the perceptions of students and staff, elicited through focus groups and electronic voting, in one UK higher education institution regarding the potential for implementation of these systems in the UK. Whilst the main principles of honour codes were broadly welcomed, implementation in the UK higher education context was perceived as problematic. Although both staff and students saw educational benefits in increased student involvement in the promotion of academic integrity and good academic practice, there was a tension between staff who would like to increase the responsibilities of students and the reality of the students' seeming lack of confidence in their ability to discharge those responsibilities. The introduction of students as participants in plagiarism hearing panels and processes was tentatively supported, potentially offering a route to break down the staff-student dichotomy
An examination of factors related to plagiarism and a five-year follow-up of plagiarism at an Australian university
No full textIn this paper we report the results of a survey of student plagiarism carried out at the University of Western Sydney (UWS). This survey examined rates of plagiarism,understanding of plagiarism, perceived seriousness of plagiarism, and factors thought to be related to plagiarism such as the pressure students place on themselves to achieve high grades. Students who achieved higher grades plagiarised less than students who had lower grades. Perceived seriousness of plagiarism, students' competitiveness, and students' self-imposed pressure to achieve high grades were correlated negatively with incidence of plagiarism. Perceived seriousness of plagiarism mediated the relationship between self-imposed pressure to achieve good grades and rates of plagiarism. The data from the present survey (conducted in 2009) were compared with data from comparable students who completed the same survey at UWS five years earlier (2004). The comparison between the 2009 and 2004 data suggested a reduction in prevalence of plagiarism and an increase in both understanding and perceived seriousness of plagiarism between 2004 and 2009. We suggest that plagiarism may be reduced by means of educational programs that promote the perception of plagiarism as a serious academic integrity issue
Physical activity from early childhood to adolescence: a literature review of issues and interventions in disadvantaged populations
No full textBackground: This paper is based on a report commissioned by the South Australian Health Department to undertake a literature review identifying key physical activity interventions in ‘different’ populations. This paper presents the findings from the literature surrounding youth from early childhood through to adolescence only.
Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature search using the following online academic databases: Proquest, Informit, Blackwell Synergy, Sage Publications, CINAHL and Cochrane. The search targeted peerreviewed articles, systematic reviews and evaluations. Each search used the term ‘physical activity and’, using the Boolean ‘or’ exercise. Using the Boolean ‘and’ combinations of the following words were added: low socioeconomic position ‘or’ low socioeconomic status, culture, intervention, health promotion, evaluation, strategies, South Australia, Australia. We also reviewed Australian government websites.
Results: There are myriad reasons for the success or failure of physical activity interventions for youth ranging from parental influences, gender and age, culture, socioeconomic status, and social and physical environments.
Conclusions: Multi-faceted approaches to interventions are required to achieve optimal outcomes for youth from early childhood through to adolescence. School provides an ideal site to engage students in physical activity. However ‘curriculum-only’ strategies do not work. Engaging parents
in the interventions will heighten the probability of success